Life As We Know It
by Glamagirl
Summary: It was the end of life as they knew it; would they survive together or fall apart amidst the chaos?
1. So It Begins

**A/N**: I'm officially out of my mind. I mean the last thing I need right now is starting a new story and yet here I am, posting this. But I just couldn't help it, I woke up in the middle of the night in a blackout and my muses just started to tickle my imagination. I tried to shun them off, but at the end I gave in… as always. So, this is kind of an apocalyptic/horror slash, yup, you read that right... (I made that genre in my mind.) Anyway, hope you enjoy.

**And So It Begins**

If there was something to be said about WWE champion CM Punk, it was that he lived his emotions to the extreme; that and that he had a very short fuse.

Everybody who knew the Chicago native was aware of this… hell, even those who didn't know him that well knew that he was a victim of his own foul moods and that when he was crabby, the best thing to be done was leave him alone until his acrid mood would wear off by itself.

John Cena was very well aware of this; after all he has become somehow close to the man in the course of the last past year and he has been a first row witness of the way Punk would get when provoked.

Now usually, Punk would fight his battles with his quick sharp tongue and he did it better than anybody else. He could cut deep with words and John himself has even been victimized by the younger man's favorite tool once or twice; but sometimes, when he was having it pretty bad, John has seen the younger man take his frustration in the gym.

Cena would always watch from a very short distance, trying to hit the weights but his eyes wandering to wherever Punk was. And be it in the spinning bike or throwing vicious kicks and punches to a defenseless punching bag, Punk would work out to the limits of exhaustion when he was in one of his moods.

First time he saw the other man hitting the punching bag while pissed off, John has been transfixed by the sight; the way his shirt was sticking to his lean torso, the way his hair got drenched in his sown sweat and the feral glint of his blazing eyes was something out of this world… he has watched for a while, but when he noticed that Orton was looking at him funny, he snorted and 'casually' asked him what was with Punk.

'The fuck if I now; but if he gets his hands on whomever pissed him off, he's going to kick his head off.' That has been Orton's answer and John agreed.

Overall, the general consensus was that Punk always struggled to control his moods; but that night… that night he did the unimaginable and something that was considered stepping out of the line by everyone in the business.

He hit a fan in the crowd. He wasn't very soaked in the details, but apparently, after jumping the barricade a fan shoved him or slapped the back of his head and out of instinct, Punk hit him…

Now usually that wouldn't sound so bad because anyone who dared touch in any threatening manner a WWE Wrestler had to be aware that he was in for some or retaliation, but the little detail that meant trouble in that situation was that Punk apparently hit the wrong fan.

That has been over an hour ago, just when the show was ending; and what was worse, he did it with the cameras still rolling and with Vince McMahon looking.

Running his left hand down his jaw, John Cena shook his head in disbelief as he made his way to the locker room. He knew Punk was still there because his tour bus was parked outside and yeah, he also knew that he was going to be pissed off; but for some reason he felt like he needed to have a word with him and he wasn't going to leave until he had it.

With his determination in full and turning in a corner of the intricate backstage corridors of the arena, the injured wrestler spotted Kofi Kingston walking out of the locker room and when he saw him, he just had to ask.

"How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad, man; Vince just talked to him. Best you can do is let him be."

Now, Kofi was Punk's best friend in the WWE and if he was bailing out, then things couldn't be so good within those walls. But even though he knew it, John still kept walking and opened the door to step in.

Taking a look around, he noticed that at least Punk didn't trash the locker room as he has been expecting. That was a good sign for him, as that would only get him in even more trouble with the Big Boss.

But anyway, Punk was sitting in one of the benches, throwing his wrestling gear angrily into his bag while his iPod blasted loudly against his ear. Apparently he just took a shower and after getting dressed in dark cargo shorts, blue hoodie and black Converse shoes, he was getting ready to leave the arena.

John approached with caution, taking a seat in the bench opposite of Punk while using his good hand to take off his cap.

Taking notice of his presence, the voice of the voiceless lifted his head and dug a hole through John with the intensity of his olive green eyes. "What the fuck do you want?" Barked out, yanking the headphones as his face contorted into a scowl.

"I heard Vince was here."

Snorting without any trace of amusement whatsoever, Punk zipped his duffel bag close and shook his head. "Of course he was here, ripping me a new one."

Now, John Cena wouldn't say that he and Punk were best buds, but there was some sort of camaraderie between them that was hard to explain to the passerby. Maybe it was just that they were the top Superstars of the WWE and after working closely for a few months, there was a mutual understanding of each other.

Yes, they sometimes they went head to head with some matters, but most of the time they got along just fine and it was probably because of their unspoken camaraderie that Punk wasn't going off on John in that moment.

True, there was some hostility in the air, but it wasn't so bad as John has seen it.

"I bet he did. Do you want to talk about it?"

Blowing out a breath through his lips, Punk got to his feet and snarled his lips. "What are you, my therapist? Of course I don't want to talk about it."

After saying that, Punk swung his bag over his shoulder and meant to leave, leaving John sitting there with a dejected look on his face. Not that he was really expecting the man to open up… but he was kind of hoping that he did.

That sentiment was an odd one to John and he didn't know how to put in in words, but there was something about Punk what always called to him and in more times that he could count, he has found himself trying to appeal to his good side.

More often than not it kind of worked and for a while they could joke together and even talk about trivial things that had nothing to do with their work; but in other occasions, when he was in one of his moods, Punk would just brush him off and disregard him as nothing more than a nuisance.

That was what he was doing right now and John desperately grasped for anything he could have. "Punk-" He called out, but then as if in cue, all the lights went out and they were both left in total darkness.

"What the fuck?" Punk asked.

Silence. Neither of them spoke a word for the good part of a minute and John started to wonder if Punk just walked out and left him there; but then he caught a faint sound coming from the place he knew the younger wrestler has been standing so he got to his feet as well.

"What the hell happened?" John asked, walking closer to Punk.

"Beats me. But my phone isn't working either."

Putting his cap back on, John moved forward and started to blindly search for the door handle, but once he managed to open the door he realized that the same darkness that reigned inside the locker room was taking over the corridors as well.

Wasn't the stadium supposed to have emergency lights?

"Are you still there," John asked.

"Of course I'm still here, where else could I fucking go all of a sudden in this darkness?"

Rolling his eyes, John extended his hand and touched something. He didn't know what it was, but when he tried to grab it he felt it being yanked away.

"That's my hand, John Boy."

"Sorry," John said, for some reason feeling his face blushing. "I can't see a damn thing. I think maybe we should go outside."

As a response, Punk snorted. "Sure, lead the way, genius."

With that plan, the two wrestlers ventured out to the corridors, walking blindly along the wall. John really didn't know where he was going, he assumed that there had to be an emergency door somewhere around and that was what he was trying to find.

Punk followed close behind, John could feel his strong presence very near and on occasions, he would even feel him bumping into him.

"Do you have any idea of where you are going?" The Straight Edge Superstar asked in an annoyed tone. He has collided against the older man for what felt like the hundredth time that nigh and in his rotten mood that only pissed him off.

He hated that he was unable to see where he was going.

"Well I can't see a damn thing either so-"

Before he could finish that sentence, a loud and desperate scream echoed in the darkness and John wasn't going to lie, the sound made the blood running through his veins turn icy-cold.

It also made Punk bump into him again, only that this time he didn't pull away as quickly as he has been doing the previous times. "What was that?" The younger of the two asked, all trace of annoyance replaced by uncertainty.

"I don't know." John breathed out, his body automatically getting close to Punk until their shoulders were pressed together.

Holding his breath, John stood in place, and when another scream filled the silence, he pressed his back hard against the wall. But this scream didn't stop, John could hear it getting louder and closer and chillier and soon after he could also hear rapid footsteps coming their way.

"John-" Punk mumbled and the former Champ swallowed hard down. "What the…?"

"Shhh." The person screaming out of the top of her lungs, because yes it was a female, was coming near, so near that he could almost feel it. And then, right when she was passing in front of them he jumped forward and she crashed against him.

"NO! Let me go!" She yelled, kicking and screaming as he got hold of her. Now, the sound was strong enough to make cringe, but he kind of recognized the voice.

"It's okay, I got you." He said, his hand lifting up to her face to find.

"John? Oh my God, John!" She said, wrapping her arms around him and sobbing against his chest.

John let her do it, feeling the awkwardness of the moment hit him full force.

"Wow, is that Eve? I didn't know she was so afraid of the dark." Punk said and John tilted his head towards the sound of his voice.

It may be that none of them could see each other, but he still sent a hard glance his way and his out of place comment.

Pulling away from John, the WWE Diva sucked in a breath. "There's something here." She said, her voice coming out as chocked. "I… I don't know what it is but got it was in the Diva's locker room and, and it got the girls."

John listened, Punk snorted and Eve just sobbed.

"I think it got AJ, she was there and Alicia- God I think they are dead and I just ran and…"

"Okay, calm down, breathe and try to make sense. What do you mean with the 'they are dead' part?" Punk asked, and as soon as the words were out, another scream was heard echoing all around them.

Feeling Eve basically jump against him while starting to cry once again, Cena clenched his teeth.

"It's here, it's here again John, and it's going to get us."

Not knowing what to think but having a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, John stepped back and dragged Eve with him. It wasn't until he felt the safety of the wall against his back that he was able to breathe again.

"I don't like this." Punk said and without thinking it twice, John reached for him until the back of his hand was brushing against his.

"I don't like it either…" He replied, flexing his fingers so that he could suppress the urge of taking his hand. But at the end he ended up taking a hold of Punk's hand and what was more shocking, Pun didn't pull away.

The three of them remained like that until the screaming stopped. "Let's just get out of here," Punk finally said and this time he did pulled away from Cena's touch.

"Yes, let's get out of here…"


	2. What The

**What The…**

There was something extremely disquieting about the darkness that has taken over the arena that John didn't like at all. It was just so… dark; there wasn't a single source of light that would alleviate their predicament and for some reason that was making all his senses stand on the edge.

Sure, he has been in quite a few power outages in his thirty-five years on this planet, but never before had it been like this. On previous times, he could at least turn on his phone, a flashlight or even a candle to make things better, but that night and in that arena, there was nothing.

Besides, he couldn't remember ever before having such an eerie feeling settling in his gut like it was happening in that moment. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but maybe that uneasiness was caused by what Eve claimed happened in the Divas locker room.

Not that he was going to take her word on it as gospel, but yeah… there was definitely something odd going on and whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Why is it so fucking quiet in here?"

Guided by instinct, John turned his head towards the voice that spoke those words. Not that he was hoping to get a glimpse of the man with eyes the color of moss, not when his own eyes couldn't get used to the pitch-black darkness.

"I don't know-" He replied tentatively, realizing that yes, it was too damn quiet and maybe that's why he felt so out of his element. "But we are also lacking on the people department; I mean where is everybody?"

As soon as the question was out of his mouth, John frowned and turned his head forward to keep walking. Yes, where did everybody go?

They were still inside the arena and last he checked, there had been many people inside the building. Yeah the fans were gone and some of the guys had left too; but what about the crew and the other WWE Superstars that he knew for a fact were around at the time the lights went out?

On his way to Punk he at saw Dolph and Vickie, he saw Kane and he saw Kofi. So where were they? Eve couldn't have been the only one, could she?

"They are dead." Eve whispered, but in the overwhelming silence, it sounded as if she was screaming.

Halting on his track, John was about to tell Eve that there was no way that everybody was dead, but when he opened his mouth to say the words, a body collided against him and he swallowed his thoughts.

Was it Punk? No, it didn't take him long to realize that it was Eve; she was shorter than Punk was and when she bumped into him she just leaned against him seeking comfort. Punk wouldn't have done that, not in that moment and not in a thousand years.

But Eve, Eve has been doing that quite a lot and every time John would try to soothe her by patting her shoulder lightly.

"Eve-" Punk started to say and at the mention of her name, the Diva moved away from John.

Now he couldn't tell for sure because he couldn't see, but John was almost sure that whenever she wasn't clinging to him, she was clinging to Punk.

To think about it was weird, with the mood Punk has been before the whole thing, he couldn't understand why he wasn't using his usual sarcastic banter to make Eve understand that it was impossible that Alicia and AJ along with the rest of the people at the arena were dead.

For some reason that he wasn't acting in his somewhat usual jerk mode made him wonder about certain things.

_Was he interested in her? Could be that they had something going on?_

He hadn't heard anything of the like, but ever since he broke up with Beth, John has been keeping an open eye to see who, if anyone, was going to be his next girlfriend. After all Punk had a reputation of being a ladies man and for some reason that John couldn't quite comprehend, he was interested on finding out everything about the Champ's love life.

Must bet that he was suddenly taking a liking for gossip, he didn't know, but he has even gone as far as searching in the internet to see if there was something to see. Hell, he even went ahead and asked Lita if she was back with the Straight Edge Superstar when he saw them together during the WrestleMania week in Miami.

Of course, he asked in a faked disinterested tone and when Punk wasn't around, but when the former Diva said that no, that they were just friends, John felt a weird sense of relief wash over him.

"I don't really think everybody is dead." The Chicago native said, plain and simple. No trace of sarcasm, no trace of ill-humor and no trace of annoyance.

"I know you don't believe me, but I was there when it happened to Alicia and AJ."

"But you saw nothing, it was dark, you said it yourself." Punk said, his tone low but firm.

"I think he's right." John said, wishing he could have a word with Punk about the whole thing without Eve listening.

"I'm not crazy."

"We are not saying that," John hurried to say. "But you are stressed and-" He shrugged, trying to find the perfect word. But instead of finding words, what he found was a door. He knew it because as he walked with his back to the wall, he came in contact with a door handle. "Punk. Come here." He mumbled as low as he could.

After saying that he heard footsteps and soon after a voice. "What?"

Extending his arm, John touched what he assumed was the other man's shoulder and he let his hand dwell there, and surprisingly enough, Punk didn't shake him off.

"I think I found a door, but I doubt it's going to take us out of here." No, the door probably was for a locker room or even a bathroom.

"Really? Well let's find out." Moving away from his touch, Punk started to search for the door and when he found it, he opened it and stepped inside.

What happened next happened so fast that John couldn't do anything; one second Punk was in front of him, the next one he was opening the door and all of a sudden a loud groan was heard and the air was full of noise.

Eve screamed, that was the prevailing sound all over, but John could also detect another one and if he wasn't mistaking, it sounded as if there was a fight taking place.

"Punk!" He yelped, his feet blindly carrying him into the room so that he could go after the black haired man. Now, he didn't know what was happening, but some kind of irrational panic started to gnaw at his bones and he was moving by pure adrenaline.

'_He's dead, just like everybody else'_

John felt rather than heard those words; they were bouncing inside his skull and they were starting to make him feel dizzy.

"Where is he? Oh my God he's dead too." Eve sobbed and John clenched his teeth, wishing more than anything that he could see.

"Punk?" A raspy voice that wasn't his or Eve said and John halted, his heart beating ridiculously fast against his chest. "CM Punk?"

Eve was holding to the back of his shirt as if her life depended on it, and as John recognized the voice and the heavy accent that characterized it, he blinked his eyes a couple of times.

"Alberto?" Yes, it was him, Alberto Del Rio was the one in the room.

"Stupid son of a bitch, I think you broke my fucking nose!" Punk said and at the sound of his voice, John closed his eyes and blew a sigh of relief.

"What did you expected me to do, you burst in here all of a sudden and I wasn't going to take any chances." Alberto almost yelled and John could feel him or Punk walking pass him and slamming the door shut.

"Chances of what?" John asked and Eve tightened her hold on him.

"Of getting killed too."

"He knows too." Eve whispered and John started to wonder what was really going on.

"The one that almost got killed was me, you fucking dipshit." Punk complained and all of a sudden, a flickering light started to dimly illuminate the room.

It was coming from Alberto, apparently he had a lighter and that was enough to cast light for them to see what was going on. First thing John noticed was that Punk was sitting on the floor, holding his hand to his nose. He was bleeding and without thinking it twice, John went to him and knelt by his side.

Once there he took off his wristband and offered it to him so that he could clean up the mess Alberto did. But instead of paying him attention, Punk furrowed his brows as his eyes remained on the Mexican.

"No, perro, you just got a bloody nose. Be thankful."

"Oh my God." Eve mumbled, her voice cracking a bit.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Punk asked and John's eyes went from one man to the other.

"What the…?" John began to ask, but the rest of his sentence was caught on his throat as he took a look.

Alberto was standing there, in the middle of the room as everybody looked at him. He was a mess, his face and clothes were covered in blood, his hair was carelessly going everywhere and there was something in his eyes that was off.

John didn't like that at all, of that much he was sure; but not knowing what to do, he just sat on the floor with Punk.

What was going on?

"Are you hurt?" Eve asked, her voice trembling as she approached Alberto.

At the question, the Mexican looked at her, his eyes moving over her for a few seconds. "I'm not hurt, Ricardo was. This blood isn't mine, just like that one isn't yours."

At his words, John looked at Eve and saw that much like Alberto, she had blood all over. Punk saw too, John knew because his hand move aimlessly towards him, landing on his knee.

"What the fuck is going on here?" The Chicago native asked without tearing his eyes from the Latin duo.

On his part, John looked at the tattooed hand resting on his knee and said nothing. He didn't know what was going on and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Oh God-" Eve choked on her words as she took a look at her hands and clothes. John saw because he just forced his eyes to move away from that place where Punk was touching him. "Oh my God," She said again, her entire body trembling.

"Is this a joke, are you trying to rib me here?" Punk asked, but his tone was so low that John was sure that only he got to hear it.

"It it's a joke, it's not funny." John mumbled, moving a little closer to Punk. "Do you still want to get out of here?"

"Fuck yeah." Punk replied, taking off his hoodie and wiping his nose with it.

John observed him, but when Eve started to sob again, he blinked slowly and looked her way. She was in front of Alberto, looking at the blood in her clothes as if it was her own. "I don't know what's going on here, but we need to go outside and that light of yours would come handy."

"I don't want to go outside, but I want to stay here even less." He said, his eyes finally tearing away from Eve so that he could look at John.

"Alright then."

With that said, he got to his feet as Alberto started to take off his shirt. After that the dark haired man started looking in his suitcase for a clean one and he took his light with him. He also started to wipe the blood off of him and Eve did the same; she even went into a dark corner where she changed into a shirt Del Rio gave her.

"If I were you, I wouldn't trust those two." Punk whispered almost in John's ear.

The older man hadn't even noticed they were so close together and the proximity made all the muscles of his body tense. He didn't know why, but the fact that he could feel the WWE Champion breathing against his skin was making him feel way too self-conscious.

"Why do you say that?" He asked for lack of anything better to do.

Punk snorted, getting even closer and John just had to hold his breath. "Look at them, they are covered in blood and they claim that the people that were with them are dead. Now I don't want to imply anything, but I've seen too many horror movies to know that you can't trust anyone who is covered in blood."

Nodding, John bit his lips and turned his head to the side. By doing that, he was almost a breath away from the other man and he closed his eyes into the moment. "This is getting weird."

He said, not really meaning the whole thing with Eve and Alberto.

"Tell me about it, John-boy; and the thing is that I have a feeling that this shit will get even weirder as the night goes on… yup, I just know it."


	3. Facing The Unknown

I wanted to update this sooner, but now that my maternity leave is over and I'm back to work, I'm finding it very hard to find time to write. I'm still going to do it (write), but the updates won't come as often as I would like. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy.

**XxXxXxX**

There was an undeniable terrifying aspect in the act of walking through the dark with your back to the unknown. That was the prevalent thought running through John Cena's mind as step by step he moved along the backstage corridors of the Arena that has them trapped for the night.

Sure, maybe feeling that sort of terror was irrational and to a certain point unfounded, but the truth was that he just couldn't help it. The little hairs and the nape of his neck stood on ends, his heart was racing ridiculously fast inside his chest and deep in his gut, he had this awful feeling of being watched.

Yeah, irrational it may be, but he wasn't sure how he hadn't pushed the man walking in front of him to make him hurry and all reason of why he was portraying such false courage when in reality he was fighting hard against the urge of running eluded him.

"Hey, John boy."

Feeling startled and on the verge of jumping ten feet in the air when his ear detected the sound of Punk calling his name in that subtle yet very peculiar accent his voice dragged on when speaking; John Cena halted on his tracks and focused his eyes on the man that just turned around to face him.

_It's just Punk so come on, don't be such a wuss when he's looking at you…_

"Yes?" He asked in a forced flat tone that hid all trace of uneasiness and as their eyes meet, he felt the world stop for a whole second.

It was ridiculous… the whole situation was, but for some reason all his senses stood on edges and even his breathing was interrupted by the way those olive greens locked with his own eyes.

What was with that? He didn't even know; all he knew was that in the chiaroscuro that reigned over the corridor, those deep eyes entranced him and made him forget all about the unknown terrors that lurked in the darkness.

Blinking his eyes slowly as a way to shake himself out of his trance, John folded his arms to his chest and waited for Punk to start talking.

"Look," The younger of the two said and all of a sudden his eyes were torn away from John's and they were now looking at Alberto and Eve who were a few steps in front of them. "I don't really know what's going on here, but the more I think about it, the less I like it."

"I know, man. This is messed up."

John never stopped looking at Punk, his eyes were fixed on his face. By then, Alberto's light was starting to disappear as he kept moving forward, but the dim light was enough so that Cena could still drink on the small details that made the Chicago native's face.

Not that he needed the light to know what Punk looked like. He would have known without looking that his eyes would be intently staring after the Latin duo walking in front of him, he would have known how Punk would run the tip of his tongue over his lip ring and he would have definitely know how the dark haired man would blink his eyes slowly before turning his face back to him.

"Do you think everybody is dead like they say?" Punk asked, his lips a thin line on his face and his eyes sparkling. "Because I refuse to believe that; I mean where are the bodies if it was true? I haven't seen anything so far."

Pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue, John blew out a breath. "I haven't seen anything either but I don't know man, this is kind of freaking me out." He confessed with a nervous chuckle as he ran one of his hands down his face.

At his confession, Punk narrowed his eyes and his head tilted to the side a little. John watched, half expecting Punk to make fun of him or to throw one of his smartass comments at him for being scared out of his mind over nothing.

But he didn't, he just took in a deep breath and scratched behind his ear.

"This is freaking the fuck out of me too; I mean the rational part of my brain is telling me that this must be a prank or because it's impossible that everyone is dead all of a sudden. But then I think on the blood and well, I can't keep Eve's screams out of my head. I mean we all know she's not too good of an actress to fake such terror."

"What if they were the ones doing the killing?" Now, in his always good nature, Cena didn't like thinking like that, but the fact was that the two of them had been covered in blood and he and Punk needed to cover all the bases to be safe.

What if one of them if not both pulled a Benoit on everyone and went psycho crazy?

At his words, Punk shrugged. "I know Eve, she's dating a good friend and I don't think she's capable of that, but I won't take any chances on this and neither should you. As for Alberto, I don't like the fucker so my eyes will be on him."

Nodding and smiling faintly, John's mind drifted. A bit earlier, he has been wondering if there was some kind of interest between Eve and Punk and he was now sure that such a thought could be discarded. The woman was dating a friend of his so there was no way there was something there.

'_Why do you even care, are you interested in her? Or better yet, are you interested in him?'_

Shaking his head at the thought he just had, John looked away from Punk and stared into the darkness. No, he wasn't interested in Eve and he was definitely not interested in Punk.

Punk was a man, he was a man and never before in his life has he found any kind of interest towards a member of his same sex. But if there was no interest whatsoever, then what was it what he was feeling?

He was fully aware that his eyes were always looking for the younger man whenever he knew him to be near, he would always start feeling giddy as a school girl whenever they had a match scheduled and as of late and more often than not he was trying not to look too much like a dofus when in his presence.

But was it attraction? Could it be that the one and only John Cena was has now switched bands for CM Punk?

Nah, he didn't think so and as a way to prove it to himself, he tried to imagine his reaction if Punk all of a sudden decided to kiss him.

Would he push him away and knock the teeth out of his mouth? Or would he grab the bull by the horns and kiss him back?

"Listen," Punk said and John felt rather than saw how the man took a step towards him, getting so near that he thought he could even savor his breath as his own. "Whatever the fuck this is, we are going to stick together. But if I find out this is a prank and you are part of it, I'm going to kick your pretty boy face. Now come on."

With that said, Punk turned around and started to walk after Alberto and Eve. In the meanwhile, John remained frozen on the spot with a smile forming on his face. Pretty boy, was that an insult or a compliment?

Snorting, he hurried after Punk and once they were back in the light casted by Del Rio's lighter, he started to think about Punk once more.

He still wasn't sure if what he felt for the tattooed man was attraction or not, but if it was, then he was screwed. After all of all the men in the world, Punk was the least likely to look his way as rumor had it that his one and only vice was the fairest sex and last he checked, he wasn't part of that selected group.

Besides he wasn't even sure if Punk liked him as anything but a very obnoxious co-worker that would rub his snarky persona the wrong way.

Sure, over the last past year they started talking more regularly, but that still hadn't kept Punk from telling him from time to time to fuck off.

Yeah… he was definitely screwed.

As they walked in silence, John was lost in his thoughts, but then a loud bang was heard all through the corridor and darkness swallowed them once more.

This time John did jump out of fright. Not ten feet in the air, mind you, but he was definitely startled by the noise and adding to that the sound of Eve yelling once again, his mind was back at feeling scared senseless. "What the fuck?" He heard himself cussing as his feet carried him to Punk's side.

"Mierda." Alberto mumbled in his native Spanish; apparently, he got startled at the sound too and he dropped the lighter and thus they were back into the pitch black darkness.

"Are you okay? Is everyone okay?" He asked, reaching forward and touching Punk.

"Yes, dad, we are all okay." Punk hissed, but he remained under Cena's touch and when footsteps started to echo in the silence, John felt him tense.

"No, not again."

Eve sobbed and John's heart stopped beating for a second. But then, the heart renewed its beating with frantically speed and he remained frozen.

He was last in line, if whatever was coming their way was coming from behind, then he was going to get it first. That thought made him clench his teeth and his hand gripped hard at Punk's shoulder.

"Turn on the light Alberto." He hissed, hearing how the footsteps became louder and louder until John couldn't tell from where they were coming from. He just knew that the sound was deafening and that they were definitely more than once.

"You herd him, turn on the fucking light." Punk said out loud, his voice carrying a hint of desperation.

"I'm trying, maldito perro." The Mexican yelled, but then the light was on and illuminating their way.

But even when they were no longer blind into the dark, the four WWE Superstars didn't move an inch, all of them pressing to the wall together while the sound approached. By then it was not only footsteps as John could hear people talking… no, more than talking they were yelling at each other; some commanding others to run, some just yelling and all of them running.

It was just people, John knew, but they was no mistaking on the fact that they were running from something and that they were coming their way.

"Turn it off," Eve said. "They won't see us if you turn it off."

"No, they'll kill us in the dark." Alberto said and when Eve tried to yank the lighter out of his hand, he moved away so that he was now besides John.

"I don't like this." Punk hissed while Eve approached Alberto.

"Turn it off!" The Diva was almost in hysterics and if it wasn't because Punk grabbed her arms and pulled her his way, she would have gone berserk on Alberto so that he would kill the lighter.

John watched all that, half his mind glad that he was no longer last in line and the other half processing the way that Eve was sobbing and mumbling some nonsense into Punk's shirt.

All that happened quickly and with the disturbing noise of people yelling and running their way; and when the sound reached their corner, John saw the noise transforming into faces and people he knew.

First one he saw was Dolph, he was the one shooting commands to run and his eye caught on the way he was dragging a bloody and screaming Natalya by the arm. Then came Beth, she wasn't screaming but her face was pale as a ghost and she couldn't stop looking behind her back. There was also Santino screaming at the top of his lungs, Wade who was running backwards and Zack who came last.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Punk asked and at the question, Dolph looked at him.

"Don't stand there you fucking idiots, run before it gets you too!"

As if in cue to those words, another noise was added to the commotion. John wouldn't know how to explain it, it was the kind of noise wind would make at the onset of a storm. It was a howl, only that it was ten times louder and way creepier.

As that happened, Eve pulled away from Punk and she started to yank at his hand, apparently trying to make him move. And he did, he wasn't quite running but he was slowly walking away from Cena. "John-" The Champion said and their eyes meet once again.

That was all it took for John to move, he was going to stick to Punk no matter what.

"Watch out." Wade yelled in his heavy accent and when John looked back, he saw Zack fall face first to the floor.

"No!" Dolph immediately let go of Natalya and tried to hurry to his friend; he even went as far as to grab the young man's hand as a way to make him get up to his feet.

"Bro, don't let…" Before Zack could finish his sentence, he was suddenly being pulled out of Dolph's hand and he was dragged into the darkness until his voice was heard no more.

"What?" John hissed in stupefaction, but his shock didn't end there, no… as he was going to find out soon, his shock was just beginning.

'_What the fucking fuck was that?'_

Before he could even blink, he saw as Doplh body was abruptly jerked and then he was on his knees; his body falling in a boneless heap to the floor and then his back exploding in a bloody mess.

At the sight of that, his blood drained to his feet and if it wasn't because he felt someone grabbing his arm and making him turn around, he would have remained there until his shock would wear off or worse…

"Come on John." He heard Punk hissing into his ear and he had to shake his head to get back to his senses.

"Come on mates, the door is just around the corner." Wade's voice thundered all around and as if it was the most natural thing to do, they all followed him.

Yes, outside they would be safe. Outside things would make sense… outside he was going to find out what was going on.

But when they all pushed through the door, what they found was even more darkness. Yes, there was a full moon and a sparkling canopy of a sky illuminating the parking lot but there was nothing more. Desolation was taking over outside; in the distance there were some sirens going off and the distinct sound of desperate people wailing and screaming, but that was far away…

For a moment, all of them remained silent while realization hit them full force, but then Natalya broke down and she fell on her knees crying.

Feeling useless, John watched as Beth knelt by her side to embrace her and for a second he couldn't help but to think that the Glamazon was Punk's ex-girlfriend, but that thought eased off when Punk sat on the ground with his back to them and a serious expression on his face.

"It's her boyfriend Tyson; he was killed too." Santino said about Natalya while folding his arms to his chest.

"I need a damn cigarette." Alberto said walking away and reaching in his pockets for a pack.

As for John, he just looked around, trying to make sense of the situation at hand. What happened in there, could it be happening outside too? And what was that anyway? He didn't even know… all he knew was that they needed to find a place to be safe.

As his mind swirled, he saw Eve walking to Natalya and Beth and she also sat with them. He also took notice on the fact that Alberto was a few paces away from them all and smoking, Wade was silently looking at the women, Santino was by his side and Punk was sitting Indian style on the hard ground.

Where they all that remained of his locker room?

"We need to find somewhere safe." Wade said, turning to John as if expecting an answer.

"We can go in my bus." Punk said from his place and John's eyes went to him at once. The Champion wasn't looking at anyone in particular, he was just staring off. "I don't think I still have a chauffeur but we can all travel there."

"I can drive." Santino said a bit too enthusiastically.

Punk opened his mouth to replied to that, but out of nowhere Beth was standing there with them and the olive green of his eyes went to her.

"Where would we go?" She asked, her voice raspy and her eyes looking tired.

"Anywhere but here sounds good." Punk said with a shrug and Beth's eyes went to her ex.

John watched the interaction through half closed eyes, fishing for something, anything he could catch about those two. But as of yet he couldn't sense the awkwardness of the moment and when Punk looked at him, he looked away.

"What do you say John boy, where can we possibly go?"

Lowering his eyes to the man on the floor, John was caught off guard by a pair of green eyes staring back at him and he swallowed on dry. "I don't know, but getting out of here sounds great to me right now."

Nodding, Punk blinked slowly and his eyes moved away. "What about you, Wade?"

"I want to get the bloody hell out of here."

"Me too." Alberto said without moving from his place.

"Me three." Santino agreed, his arms folding to his chest.

"Beth?" Punk asked, his eyes moving to her once again.

The blonde took in a deep breath and then she blew it out. "Yeah, me too."

"Alright," Punk said without bothering to ask Eve and Natalya. "Then lets get the fuck out of here."


	4. It is not a nightmare

_**It is not a nightmare**_

John Cena couldn't close his eyes without having the image of Dolph Ziggler dancing that macabre last dance his body was forced to dance before falling to the floor in a mess of flesh and bones settling deep into his skull.

As he found out, closing his eyes meant reliving that moment in slow motion but with all his senses running at full speed; heart racing, ears ringing, gut quivering and an eerie chill running like a bolt of lightning down his spine and thus making his entire body shiver.

True, as that awful moment replayed over and over again behind his closed eyelids, John couldn't help but to think that the image seemed as anything but genuine, almost as if he has seen it in the worse horror movie ever produced; but because he knew how real it has been and what it meant, he was now afraid of closing his eyes longer than in a blink.

It was just… he didn't know, but the whole thing was making him feel more than a little bit uneasy and even with his eyes wide open and all his will focused on not thinking about it, he just couldn't help but wondering what the hell was going on.

He just didn't get it; what was happening seemed to be defying all logic and as much as he has tried to, he couldn't comprehend what was going on.

Was it the aliens like Santino said? Or could it be a terrorist attack like his rational mind wanted to believe? He didn't know; for all it was worth it, the whole thing was some paranormal shit like Wade and Punk were settled on believing.

Not that he believed in such things, but what he saw back there was just incomprehensible; first Ryder being dragged by some unseen force into the darkness and then what happened to Dolph, his body basically exploding inside out without any apparent reason.

The whole thing was just awful; death was upon them and now they were forced to run for their lives into the unknown.

Ah, and that was without mentioning that all phones and electronics devices just stopped working so whatever it was that was happening, it was also forcing them to move around blind as well as deaf as they had no means of communication with the rest of the world.

'_This is a nightmare. You are safe and sleeping in your own bed but your mind is playing tricks on you by making you think this is real…'_

Tilting his head to the side and wishing that that thought would be real, John looked out the window and just as it has happened all the times he has done it before, his clear blue eyes saw only devastation.

Cars abandoned in the middle of the street, a few fires rising up into the black skies and yeah, a whole deal of bodies sprawled around, each one lying in their own pool of blood.

"We won't be able to use this bus for much longer; not with the streets like this."

At the sound of that familiar voice, Cena lifted his head in time to see Punk walking to him and ultimately, sitting by his side.

He did without sparring John a glance, his olive green eyes focusing instead on the awful panorama reigning outside. John took that opportunity to steal a furtive glance at him, taking notice of how tired the younger man looked. Actually, all of them looked tired as hell and that made John wonder what time was it and for how long they had been driving around.

Yeah it was still dark outside and the moon was shining high from above, meaning that dawn was still a few hours away; but still, that gave him no clue as for the exact hour.

Clearing his throat and lowering his eyes to his sneakers, John outstretched his bad arm and blew out a breath. "I don't think that will be good. I mean I would really hate going on there and keep going the rest of the way on foot…" Sure, he knew that Punk was right and that sooner or later they were going to find a road block that was going to prevent them from traveling in the comforts of the bus, but that didn't mean that he liked the idea of walking around in the dark and with all those bodies lying around…

No, that wouldn't be good like at all. Besides none of them knew what could be lurking out there in the dark and chances were that none had any plans of finding out anytime soon.

"Yeah, me neither." Punk said, his voice coming of as calm and clear while he moved his face towards John. "That's why we need to figure out what to do."

"And what do you suggest we should do?"

Shrugging, Punk blinked his eyes slowly and ran his hand through his recently cut hair. "I have no fucking clue."

John nodded at those words because he could sympathize; he had no idea of what to do either and that was one of the reasons why he was feeling so restless.

"If we only knew what we are running away from." He said, his lips curving into a smile he wasn't quite feeling and his eyes delving into Punk's sparkling ones.

"I know, right? I still have no idea what the hell is going on. But if this would have been a zombie apocalypse, then we would be dancing to a different melody right now." Punk replied, his own lips twisting into the phantom of a smile and his eyes refusing to leave John's.

Was it him or had they been doing that a lot lately? It was as if every time they talked they just had to stare into each other's eyes like that.

And another thing, how come that amidst the chaos that the night has turned into, his mind kept going back to Punk and whatever it was that the man was making him feel? It was ridiculous… he was being ridiculous.

Shaking his head and snorting at his own stupidity, John moved his eyes away from Punk and tried to act as normal as he could. "Zombies, uh? I forgot you were into that kind of thing."

With a snort, Punk lifted a hand to his chin and he ran his fingers down his jaw absentmindedly. "Zombies would have been better. They are stupid, we would have been able to see them, we would have definitely out run them and you killing them would have been a piece of cake. But this thing, whatever it is that got Ryder and Dolph… we don't even know what it is or what to do to escape it."

Once Punk said that, John stole a glance at him and found him once again staring out the window. He seemed pensive, his eyes overshadowed with whatever it was that he was thinking and his thin lips settled into a small pout.

Was that an invitation for a kiss? John doubted it, but as he sat there with Punk by his side, he couldn't help but to wonder how it would be like to kiss the Chicago native.

It wouldn't have to be a real kiss intense kiss with tongue and all that, no… that would be like too much. But he did wonder how it would feel to press his lips to that of the other man's if it was only for a brief second.

Would it feel nice? Would Punk's lip ring feel cool or warm against his mouth?

"Um guys, there's a road block."

Snapping back to reality, John looked at Santino. In his day-dreaming about Punk he hadn't realized that the bus stopped moving and that their designated driver was now standing a few paces away from both him and Punk.

"How bad is it?"

That was Beth; John wasn't even aware that she has been near and he looked around to take a look at her. She was sitting at Punk's table with Wade and upon seeing them he took a look around to corroborate where everyone else was.

He knew that Natalya and Eve were in the bedroom last time he checked so he didn't put much thought into the fact that they were nowhere to be found. As for the others, Del Rio was sitting near the door, rolling an unlit cigarette between his fingers and looking out the window and well, Punk was there with him.

"There are at least a dozen cars blocking the way; some are wrecked, others just abandoned and all of them in the middle of the road. I can't go any further that this."

"Can we turn around and find another road?" Wade asked in his thick accent and John found himself nodding in agreement.

"What for? All the other roads will end up being blocked." Alberto said without bothering to look at them.

"So what now?" Should we wait until morning?"

At the question, everyone looked at Wade and then at one another. By the look on everyone's faces, it was evident that they didn't want to spend the rest of the night parked there but what option did they really have?

"We should turn around and keep driving even if it's in circles. I mean look at what happened to all those people out there when they decided to step out of their vehicles. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to end up like them."

That was Punk, his voice echoing all around and making everyone keep silent for a long while.

Now, what Punk said was making sense, John couldn't deny it, staying inside the bus seemed like the safest thing to do. But what if they ran out of gas? They would eventually have to go out of the bus to fill the tank up and that was a reality they needed to face. But not only that, he has spied Punk's freezer earlier on and he doubted that what he had in there would be enough to feed them all when they would feel the need to eat settle in their stomachs.

No, besides getting gas they would need to get provisions. Food, water and why the hell no, maybe even some guns or something.

"Well, so far we've been safe here." Beth was the first one to speak out loud. "But we just can't stay here forever."

Slapping a hand to his knee, Punk jumped to his feet and keeping his eyes on his ex-girlfriend, he talked once again. "And we won't. But I think it would be better to way until tomorrow; then first thing in the morning we go and find someone that can tell us what the hell is going on so we can figure out what to do."

Beth hummed, arching an eyebrow. "Sounds good to me."

"Good." Punk said, his eyes still on her.

Beth smiled faintly at that and then she moved her eyes away from Punk, blowing out a breath as she did so.

Now, during the entire night John has been observing the interactions between those two and yes, they talked a lot for two people that had spent the last few months evading each other like the pest; but other than that he didn't see anything going on… or was there?

Not that he should care, their business was only theirs…

"Okay, good." Santino said, walking back to the driver's seat. "Then I need to keep driving."

As soon as the words escaped Santino's lips, all the windows of the bus exploded out of nowhere and by instinct, John covered his face with his arm to protect himself. The only problem was that he did it with his bad arm and the sudden motion sent a bolt of pain all the way up to his shoulder.

But that pain and the feeling of glass hitting him and even encrusting into his skin was secondary to the dread that settled in his gut when his ear picked up the sound of wind whistling loudly all around him.

_No, not again… _

Looking around almost in desperation, John saw Alberto turning around and falling flat to his stomach. It was as if he was living a Déjà vu moment, only that instead of seeing him being dragged out of the bus through a door that was now inexplicably open, he just saw the man throw his hands over his head while grumbling something in Spanish.

"Get out of there!" Beth yelled and as if in cue, Santino got to his feet ready to run away from the entrance. But he just managed to get up facing them all, because before he could even yell, he jerked violently and fell to his knees.

John saw in stupefaction as it happened, his eyes taking especial notice of the tears of blood sliding down his cheek and then, much like Dolph did, he exploded inside out.

With his ears ringing and his eyes wide as plates, John turned on his feet, looking around and trying to find a way to escape. As for the others, Wade was running into the room yelling something about Eve and Natalya, Alberto was scrambling hastily on on hands and knees towards them and Beth seemed frozen in the spot.

And Punk… Where was Punk?

Turning abruptly and his eyes searching for the other man, John's ears keep ringing loudly into his skull. It was the wind thing… or whatever it was that just killed Santino and the sound of it was deafening.

"We have to get out of here." Punk yelled and following his voice, John saw him near Alberto. He was helping the Mexican to his feet and once he succeeded, he grabbed Beth by the hand and forced her to move.

Blowing out a breath he didn't even know that he was holding once he spotted Punk, John meant to turn around and make it into the bedroom. Apparently, that was where everyone was heading into and he wasn't going to be the only one left behind.

Now, was there a door in there? Could they climb out through a window? He didn't know. The only thing that he knew was that they needed to get out of the bus and the sooner, the better.

In the middle of the chaos, John felt that everything was happening way too fast, but already decided, he moved as quickly as he could and then he turned around to see Punk's progress. But what he saw once his eyes found the other man made all the blood running through his veins turn icy cold and he felt the world stop spinning.

Punk wasn't making it into the room like the rest of them. No he wasn't, instead of making it into safety, he was down on his knees and grabbing Beth's arms with both his hands.

He was pulling hard at her, fighting desperately against something that was trying to drag the blonde out. Not that he seemed to have a chance; the only thing he was accomplishing was being dragged along with her.

'_They are both going to killed, do something!'_

"Don't let go of me, please don't." Beth sobbed as she was dragged even more into the dark.

"I won't, just… hold on." Punk yelled, his voice strained with effort and that was all it took John to break out of his trance, turn around and head towards them.

But the walk seemed eternal; he tripped and fell, he got up, he tried to walk fast and then to run and all the while he was unable to tear his eyes from both Punk and Beth. They were by then almost to the door and hating that his feet were as useless as if they were made out of rubber, he cussed out loud.

"I can't… Phil… I can't."

"Come on Beth, don't do this to me… just hold on tight."

By the time they were beside Santino's broken body, John was able to reach them and he didn't think it twice to wrap his arms around Punk's midsection; then closing his eyes, settling his feet firm to the floor and pulling as hard as he could, he tried to help the younger man on the task of maintain Beth inside the bus and alive. But before he was able to be of much help, he heard Beth gasp…

The sound was barely audible with the wind howling so loud all around him but he heard it, he heard it as well as he caught the horrible sound of flesh and bones being torn and then he was falling to his back with Punk on top of him.

For a second everything remained still and the only thing Cena was aware of was on how the weight of Punk against him forced the air out of his lungs.

'_The air is filled with blood, can't you smell it?'_

"No…"

Opening his eyes, John felt Punk struggling against the hold he had on him and it took him a second to realize what happened; when reality finally downed on him, Punk was already moving away from him and towards his ex.

"No, no, no…" John heard Punk say over and over again and when he was able to look his way, he spotted him besides what remained of Beth, which was only her upper body. From the waist down she was gone.

Punk was just looking at her in pure shock, his eyes wide and wild, his face and shirt covered in blood and his hands trembling lightly as if he was debating with himself whether he should touch her or not.

It was a real nightmare and an awful sight; he himself couldn't quite believe what just happened but at the same time he knew that they needed to get out of there if they didn't want to share her fate.

"Punk-" He said, getting to his feet and grabbing the other man by the shoulders and shaking him lightly. It was pointless though as that provoked zero response out of the current Champion. But because John knew time was precious, he just pulled him to his feet and dragged him along.

Once in the bedroom, he looked around and saw a broken window, probably the one the rest of the guys used to escape. Now he just needed to make Punk react.

Clenching his jaw, he forced Punk to turn to him, grabbing his chin and tilting his face towards him. "Listen to me." He said, his eyes delving deep into Punk's tumultuous ones. "We need to get out of here, alright?"

Punk blinked a couple of times and nodded, but as he did so he turned his head away and tried to look back at the bloody mess in his bus. John didn't let him, what he did was kick the door close as he tightened his fingers on Punk's chin, forcing him to get so close that their foreheads were touching.

"I need you to come with me," He said in a low whisper as his hand moved to the back of the younger man's neck, bringing him even closer. The motion also made their lips to almost touch as well and John tried to ignore the way Punk's hard breathing felt against his mouth. No… the time was not appropriate for such thoughts, what he needed to focus on was on keeping Punk safe. "We stick together, remember?"

Punk opened his mouth to reply, but before he could even mutter a word, the door trembled on its hinges so hard that it was a miracle that it remained standing. That right there made Punk turn his head away from John and he even backed away from him.

"Phil, stay with me." John said, taking the liberty of using the man's given name. That seemed to do the trick because at John's call, Punk turned back to him and his eyes went to stare deeply into his own blue orbs.

"I don't…" Punk began to say, his voice raspy and a bit lost while his still trembling hands went to his forehead. He looked disoriented, almost as if he was in shock and in John's mind, that wasn't good like at all.

'_Wait until he takes notices that he is covered in blood, he'll flip.'_

Shaking that thought out of his mind, John grabbed John grabbed Punk by the hand and urged him to the window. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

With that said he watched as Punk reacted by climbing out the window and once he was done, he went after him.

By the time they made it outside into the night, Punk seemed more like himself and John was glad. He would have known how to deal with one of the Divas going into a nervous breakdown, but Punk… he wouldn't have known what to do.

Thankfully, he wouldn't have to deal with that as of yet. Later? Who knew, but since the Chicago native struck him as someone who would rather have those moments of weakness in private, he wasn't going to worry about it.

'_Who are you kidding? You are going to worry yourself sick about it and the moment you see him crumble, you'll be there to pick him up. You are love-sick, that's what you are.' _

"Shut up." He mumbled between clenched teeth at the same time that he grabbed Punk by the arm to urge him away from the bus.

Together they ran forward into the night, leaving the bus behind and going after the rest of their group.

"There's a building right up front, we'll go there." Wade said when they caught up with him and John saw as the tall man's eyes focused on Punk and all the blood on him. "Where's Beth?" His voice a bit too loud for John's liking and before he could reply, Punk yanked his arm away from his grip and started walking towards the building.

That was all the answer Wade needed so John made to follow Punk; but before he could take a step, the Englishman grabbed him by the shoulder and he had no choice but to stop.

"This is going to get worse before it gets better, we need to make a plan."

Puffing out a breath and watching as Punk disappeared into the building, Cena ran a hand down his face. "We do, but let's… let's just go inside and then we'll think on what to do."

With that said he walked in, part of his brain telling him to go after Punk and the other one telling him to let him be. He didn't know what to do… he just didn't know anything anymore.

_**XxXxXxXxX**_

Thanks for the reviews, I always love reading what you guys think of this. Now some of you are wondering what the hell is going on, I know but trust me, but so are my muses. They are lost and confused! As for a few other questions, Randy wasn't in the arena (I think that night he was still filming his movie so no I won't kill him), yes there are going to be more deaths and nope, I'm not pregnant anymore, I gave birth already to a lovely girl and now I'm back to work. Anyway, I'm glad you still find this interesting enough to read and review so thanks again. BTW, I promise more interesting Punk/Cena interactions very soon ;)


	5. The Eye Of The Storm

Hi, I know it's been a while but life has been too crazy on my end so sorry. Also, on the weeks I was gone, I made my mind up that I was never, ever going to write again. It seemed like a waste of my time, but little did I know that keeping myself from writing was so difficult! My mind kept swirling with ideas and I would stare at my computer with longing while trying to stop! Fortunately for my sanity, I decided to keep doing this. What can I say, I love writing; it's my escape and what keeps me sane in such a crazy world so yup, I'm back!

As for this particular story, this is a short chapter to get back in the mood for this story. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you like it ;)

**XxXxXxXxX**

_**Caught in the eye of the storm**_

"What are we going to do now?"

John vaguely registered those words in his mind. Yes, he heard them just fine, how could he not when they were blurted out almost in his face? But to him the sound of that question was a faint whisper in the wind and it basically went in through one ear and escaped through the other.

"We need to find a safe place and we need to stay there until everything passes by."

A snort, John wasn't sure from who it was. It sounded like Wade… but it was probably Alberto.

"A safe place? What it's a safe place in a situation like this? For all we know there is no such thing. What we need to do is keep our eyes open and stay together."

Wade, that was definitely Wade. Even with the turmoil in his head John could recognize a Mexican accent from an English one and the man that was talking definitely had an English accent.

"There has to be people around. I mean we can't be the only ones." This new voice was faint and strained, but John had no problem recognizing it as Eve's. "I say we should find them because maybe they know what's going on and they'll help us."

"No; if we are going to stick together it has to be only us."

"Why?"

"Because…"

"This is crazy." Alberto said, and despite his mind being somewhere else, John nodded in agreement.

As the conversation kept going back and forth, John lowered his eyes and stared at his sneakers. He looked down at them for a long while, musing about the fact that the last few hours of his life have been ridiculously chaotic. He still wasn't exactly sure what was going on but whatever it was, it was terrible.

It was almost as if he was trapped in a nightmare that had no end and he was now unable to wake up. It was just… If it wasn't because he has seen three of his coworkers die right before his eyes and a forth being dragged into the unknown, he wouldn't quite believe that everything that was happening was real.

'_It's not a nightmare; go ask Punk how real it is.'_

Pressing a hand to his forehead and shaking that voice out of his head, John drew in a breath. No, it was not a nightmare. He knew because whenever he closed his eyes he could see all of them in their final moments and the images made him want to puke his guts out. And to think that the arena has been full of more coworkers that probably ran the same luck as those who fell before his eyes…

But as terrible as thinking about all that felt to him, the one image that he couldn't keep out of his mind and that kept haunting him was Punk's face in the aftershock of Beth's death.

The way his hands trembled, the far off look in his eyes… the way he basically had to drag him into safety.

That was definitely not the Punk that he knew and for some reason, he couldn't keep himself from worrying. Ah, and to make matters worse, the man had gone into the building, locked himself into one of the rooms and ever since no one has heard from him.

Luckily, the building they ran into was a deserted hotel and the room Punk has gotten into was a suite and everybody basically followed him but remained gathered in the living room.

But still, the fact that he couldn't see the current champion to corroborate that he was okay was making him feel unnerved and more than a little antsy. Weren't they going to stick together? Punk said it himself so why the hell were the two of them in different rooms?

"… so meanwhile we should go and find provisions. We need food, clothes and you know, stuff like that."

Shaking his head away from his thoughts, John looked at the rest of the survivors. Whatever they were now talking about, they were right. They needed food and they needed to make a plan to get it.

"Who is going to go for it?" He asked, looking at Wade and Alberto. After all, there was no way he was going to allow either one of the Divas to go. Nattie was still a mess and Eve's nerves were apt to betray her before she could even walk out the door.

At the question he just threw around, the two other men looked at each other, none of them volunteered and he didn't do it himself. Now, he didn't offer as an act of cowardice, if he had to do it he would; but right in that moment he would hate to leave Punk there… yeah, as ridiculous as it sounded even to himself, it was true.

"We should wait until daylight to do anything anyway, there's something about this darkness that creeps me out."

Clearing his throat and getting to his feet, John agreed. "True, then let's just decide first thing in the morning. Now I'm um, I'll get Punk and tell him."

With that excuse flowing out of his lips without even giving him a chance to think it over, John walked out of the suite's living room and headed straight to the room where Punk was.

Yeah, telling Punk about the plans to get provisions was the best excuse to go to him and he was going to use it with no sense of shame whatsoever.

With that thought in mind, John made it to Punk's door and knocked once and then twice.

From the other side of the room came no response and with his mind betraying him with thoughts of Punk exploding into a hundred pieces of flesh and blood, he knocked a third time. "Punk?"

Still, no response so without wasting another thought on it he opened the door to check that everything was fine…

Now, with a sigh of relief, John saw that Punk was there alright and very much alive; true, he wasn't moving and he could only tell that he was still among the living from the occasional blink and because of the way his chest fell and rose with his breathing, but the fact was that he still lived.

"Hey-" He said stupidly, taking notice that the younger man was sprawled on his back and wearing only his boxers. Apparently, he was recently out of a shower because his hair was wet, there was no trace of blood on his body and the fresh scent of soap was heavy in the air.

But even though he was alive and in one piece, the man seemed catatonic.

Closing the door behind his back, John decided to move closer, his eyes never leaving Punk. They moved to his stomach and settled for a second on his hip dents… but he didn't dare look at him there for too long and let alone a bit lower so his eyes moved up his torso and made a stop on his chest.

Now, he has always been intrigued by the tattoo Punk got in there. It was hard to take in every detail without Punk looking at him weird so he never did, but now that he was there, he just had to look. Sure, in the darkness it was hard to distinguish anything, but still…

"What the fuck do you want?" Punk asked, his voice coming almost as robotic and detached.

Feeling as if he has been caught doing something wrong, John felt a heat crept up to his face and he immediately ran a hand down his face.

"The guys were talking about going out for provisions. We haven't decided who will go, but we are thinking on doing it first thing in the morning."

"I'll go." He said, plain and simple and without sparing John a glance.

"I don't… you don't have to go if you don't feel like it." John said with a strained snort because really, he didn't tell him as a way to get him to go.

"I said I'll fucking go so I'll go; now get the fuck out." Now, as Punk said that, he got to his feet and looked at John dead in the eye.

As that happened, John found out that the olive green of those eyes were bright and shining, that the man's cheeks were flushed and that his lip ring was almost shining in the dark. The combination of all those things was making it hard for John to look away so he didn't.

What the fuck?

"Fine, then we'll go together."

Punk snorted and ran both hands through his hair. The movement looked almost desperate in John's eyes and he also noticed that he was still slightly trembling. "I don't need you to babysit me."

Sitting by his side, John reached for one of Punk's hands in his own and held it. "You are still trembling. Punk, I'm being serious, if you need something, anything to make you feel better, just tell me and I'll do it."

Blinking one time and then staring at John as if he has grown a second head, Punk opened his mouth and the clasped it shut.

"Or if you just want to talk about it…"

For a moment, Punk only stared at him, his eyes wide and bright while John held his hand. It felt both weird and right at the same time so he forced himself to keep both his eyes and his hold on the smaller man.

"What do you want, John? Seriously."

This time, it was John's turn to stare at Punk with wide eyes. What did he want? Well to be a good friend and make sure he was alright?

But… they weren't friends… he knew that and Punk knew that.

"What do you mean?" John tried to keep his voice neutral but it didn't work, he almost stuttered the words and it was an effort to chew them and spat them out.

"John, you are holding my fucking hand right now, you are always staring at me with those puppy eyes and I won't lie, I still haven't decided if you act so stupid around me because you want me to hit your face with a shovel or because you want me to kiss you."

At his words, John chuckled nervously and he immediately let go of Punk's hand as if it was on fire. "Sorry."

Punk hummed, his face tilting to the side and his eyes fixed in the blue ones of Cena.

"I… think I'll better go now." John said with a frown and then, moved by an unknown force he leaned forward and without thinking about it, he pressed his lips to those of Punk's.

As a response, Punk tensed and then relaxed, neither pulling away nor contributing to John's advances. He was just there, his soft breathing caressing John's face and making him feel a rush of adrenaline running up his spine.

Sure, it was barely a kiss, he just brushed their lips together, added a bit of pressure while getting used to the feeling… but knowing the fact that those were Punk's lips against his own was enough to make him feel like a teenager version of himself kissing his biggest crush.

Ending the kiss with a little peck, John pulled away. Now that the smooch was done, he felt a little stupid so smiling his dimple smile, he licked his lips and cleared his throat.

Punk just remained on his spot, pushing his lip ring with the tip of his tongue while looking at John through half closed eyes. Was he mad? John couldn't tell. In his mind, an angry Punk wouldn't waste a second and he would be kicking the teeth out of his mouth without breaking a sweat and he was definitely not doing that.

Was he upset? Who knew, he was definitely not ecstatic about it and that made the smile fade away from his lips. In that moment, he couldn't help but to remember that Punk just lost someone he used to date and yet there he was, stealing kisses out of his lips…

"I'm sorry. That was… this is the first time I kiss I guy and now I'm thinking that I shouldn't have done it. Next time just hit me with a shovel and we'll…"

Not letting him finish, Punk closed the distance that separated them and pressed their lips back together. Now, this kiss was a bit more aggressive as Punk just went ahead, tugged at the older man's lips with his teeth and in a matter of nothing his tongue was slowly but firmly touching John's.

That right there made Cena's head spin out of control and his hands went immediately to hold Punk's head steady against his face.

Now sure, maybe such a quick progress was too much for him because like he said, this was the first time ever that his lips made contact with any part of another male in a way that wasn't chaste; but at the same time he couldn't get enough of it and he reciprocated the kiss with enthusiasm.

It was just that never in a million years would he have thought that Punk tasted like grape bubble gum or that his tongue was apt to cloud his judgment with just a kiss. The man just knew how to kiss and Cena got caught up in the moment.

His fingers buried into his short hair, his tongue swirled around his and his heart started to beat incredulously fast inside his chest. For a moment there was nothing in his mind but the way he and Punk were kissing and for all he cared, the world could end right then and right there and he wouldn't even notice.

But then, Punk pulled away and closing his eyes and letting himself fall back to his back, he slapped a hand to his face. "John, just… go."

Hearing the words and lifting a hand to his lips, John blinked slowly. "Punk…" Should he apologize? Somehow he felt like it and he had the words at the tip of his tongue. But before he could say them, Punk spoke.

"Just go. You said you would do anything so just leave me alone."

Nodding and feeling a bit confused, John got to his feet and did as he was told, he just left…


	6. What Now?

_**What Now?**_

His arm was bothering him; from shoulder to fingertips it felt as if his blood has gone thick as petroleum and as he stared at his injured arm without blinking, he wondered if it was possible for the veins on his shoulder to get clogged and thus prevent the flow to move swiftly through his arm.

Or worse yet? What if the flow of this heavy substance that apparently ran now through his entire arm got too thick for his veins to contain? What if they burst open? He heard an urban legend like that at the gym he used to frequent in high school; a huge guy lifting heavy weights, a burst vein and a lot of blood.

Real or not he didn't think that would be a pretty sight so he didn't want that happening to him; especially now that a trip to the ER could prove to be futile.

But no, realistically speaking he didn't think that such a thing could happen to him just because his arm was throbbing a little; but then again, that morning he wouldn't have believed it possible that he would live to see the end of the world as he knew it so yeah, anything could happen now… that was the only thing he could count on now.

Tilting his head to the side and with his blue eyes still glued to his arm, Cena frowned. Was his arm swelling? He had stared at it for long intervals of times and to him it looked the same as it did the previous day. But it did feel bigger and that right there led his thoughts to a much complicated matter, why did he kiss Punk?

True, one thing didn't have anything to do with the other but ever since walking out of that room a few hours ago, he couldn't prevent the events that took place in there from constantly invading his mind.

It was like this, he couldn't stop thinking that he kissed Punk and as weird as it sounded, that Punk kissed him back.

That was one of the reasons he believed that anything was possible now, because he did the unimaginable and there he was now, dwelling in the aftershock of his actions.

But even though he still couldn't wrap his mind around what he did, that he kissed another guy wasn't the part that bothered him the most. No, actually that wasn't even what was really troubling his mind so much; after all he could justify that wild impulse that prompted him to act with the things that were happening. He was trying to comfort an upset Punk, the two of them were confused as fuck with all the deaths they had seen and… and it just happened.

Sure, it wasn't something he would consider normal for him, but under the circumstances it was something he could justify as a thing of the moment.

So no… the real issue in the whole thing wasn't the kiss per see, the problem resided in the fat that he liked kissing Punk and he has been more than a little bit disappointed when the Chicago native put an end to it and kicked him out.

It felt surreal even to think about it, but that was his truth. He liked the kiss… he liked it a little too much.

Flexing his fingers to make sure they still functioned, John blew out a breath and moved his gaze towards the door of the room where Punk was into. Right in that moment, with his arm bothering and the world going straight to hell, he wanted nothing more than to go in there and talk to the man. That would be another impulse and he was itching to do it, but at the same time another part that happened to be wiser, wanted first to figure out what in the blue hell was happening to him.

Yeah, for over a year he had it very clear in his mind that Punk had a drawing force over him that was too strong to ignore, but from knowing that to go straight to kiss him? That was a huge step…

And why did he do it anyway, what was Punk making him feel? Was it that he was attracted to him? Did respect and admiration turned into infatuation? He didn't get it, never before had he felt like that for another guy and in some way it was disturbing.

Ah, but disturbing or not, deep inside Cena wanted nothing more than to go in that room once again and kiss Punk over and over again; to kiss him until there was no breath in his lungs and until Punk would have no choice but to kiss him back the same way he did earlier on.

Ah, if only he could…

Lowering his eyes and chewing hard on his lips, John started to inspect his arm once again. His fingers were moving just fine and even though his elbow felt as if it was on fire, there was mobility there as well.

It probably wasn't so bad… the thing with his arm that was so with his mind drifting once again, the leader of the Cenation started to wonder again… Punk, Punk, Punk… what was he doing to him?

In that same manner, John spent the following fifteen to twenty minutes musing about the things that were happening; his thoughts varying from Punk to his arm and especially to whatever it was that was taking the lives of the people he knew.

Was is a local thing? Has the entire world succumbed to chaos? Would they ever be safe?

To those questions he had no answer but they still kept coming. Why did Punk kiss him back, did he enjoyed it the same way he did? What now?

Using his good hand to run it down his face, John threw his head back and blew out a breath. Basically, thinking was the only thing he has been doing since the kiss took place and by the time the current WWE Champion finally emerged from the confinements of his room, he was still thinking.

And then there was no thought that counted.

When Punk walked out, a few stubborn rays of light were already shining bright through the window; not that John took much notice, all he saw was that the younger of the two walked out without sparing him or anyone a glance and at the image, John straighten up his back and focused all his attention on him.

As he studied the smaller man's movements, John noticed that he was fully clothed now; his dark hoodie was pulled up and covering most of his features and making John wish that he could have a better look at his face. His reason for wanting that was simple, the Chicago native has never been good at concealing his moods and John was a hundred percent sure that he could detect anger or whatever it was that Punk was feeling if he would be given the chance to look into those eyes.

But Punk wasn't giving him that chance, what he was doing was walking straight from his bedroom to the door that lead to the outside corridor.

"Hey." Taken by another impulse, John got to his feet immediately and called after him. "Where are you going?"

Things from then on happened in a blur… almost in slow motion and as he walked across the room he saw out of the corner of his eye that Wade was on a nearby sofa, napping as he sat while Nattie curled by his side. He also saw as if not seeing that the Canadian wasn't sleeping, she was just staring blankly to the wall opposite to her and in the same way that he saw them, he also spotted Eve and Alberto sitting near door.

As it happened, Eve reacted quicker and in a matter of nothing she was blocking Punk's way towards the door. That right there made him halt on his tracks, part of him relieved that someone got to stop him and another one wishing that everyone would leave the room so he could have a one on one talk with him.

"What...you are not leaving, are you?" The Diva asked and even with his back to him, Cena took notice of the way Punk tensed and got on the defensive.

"I'm going to get your damn provisions."

His voice was raw, his tone harsh and that made John certain of one thing; Punk was pissed. The question was, was he pissed off because of the kiss?

Yes, he had to be… why else? Thinking about that, John ran a hand through his short hair, all the muscles from his shoulders tensing.

"Get away from the door." Nattie warned them, her voice raspy with the lack of use. It was probably the first time since they got into that hotel room that she was using it and it came out weak and full of effort.

John paid little attention but Punk turned back to her, his lips a thin line on his face but his eyes going almost soft. It was while he looked at her that he grabbed Eve by the arm and made her step aside.

"Listen, I've been watching out through the window and since morning came those things have disappeared; maybe they just show up at night or whatever so we need to act now. But just in case, stay away from the door and windows."

"Don't go… Punk, we still don't know for sure. They could be waiting out there for all we know." Eve said and John wanted to add his voice to that request. He didn't want Punk to leave… not while pissed or upset or whatever.

"I probably won't take long, and if I don't come back in a couple of hours then go on with plan B."

"Plan B? We don't even have a plan A." Alberto said almost in a chuckle but John could hear in his voice that there was no trace of amusement in him; no… why would there be, after the things they lived, all of them should be in despair.

Taking in a deep breath and then blowing it hard through his mouth, Punk tilted his head to the side and looked at the Mexican wrestler, giving John the chance to take a good look at him and no, he may sound pissed but he didn't look like it, what he looked like was tired as hell.

"Plan A, get the fuck out of here as soon as we can. Plan B, get out of here without Punk and as soon as you can."

"Wait, wait, wait." John ventured to say at least, taking a few steps towards Punk but stopping when he was at least four feet away. "Nobody is going to be left behind and you are not going to go out there alone."

Now, what John just said sounded almost as a command and at the sound of it the tattooed wrestler arched an eyebrow and turned around completely so he could face John.

"And who made you the boss around here? I think I can manage to walk a few blocks by my own, and if I don't come back then I don't." Punk's face was pretty much stoic as he said that, but his eyes were shinning oh so bright.

Maybe it was because a few rays of light were reflecting on them, John wasn't sure, but one look at those eyes and he was rendered speechless.

"He's right, you can't go out there alone, it's suicide." Eve said, a hint of desperation tainting her voice. "No one should go out there; so far we've been safe here so we should wait until everything passes."

"And when would that be? A day, a week? Even if we decide to stay here, we need food and water." Alberto said. "We should draw sticks, the two shortest ones go out to look for provisions and maybe some information about what is going on."

"We could even find other survivors; maybe they'll know what these things areand how to deal with them." That was Johh, and he said that just because he felt the need to break the spell that Punk eyes casted on him by looking away and saying something, anything.

"No," Said Wade, his voice thundering through the room while he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "No scouting for more people. We don't know what kind of scum we will find in the streets and I won't take a chance with Eve and Nattie here."

"Why, what does that even mean?" Eve asked, her eyes big as plates while looking at the men one by one.

"I'll make it simple, with the world going straight to the pits of hell, some people may feel like they don't have anything to lose and they could be more apt to make stupid things with pretty birds like you two."

Eve opened her mouth to reply, but only a gasp escaped her lips while Nattie just cuddled closer to Wade. "The world crumbles and civilization follows."

"Alright then," John said, getting at once what Wade just implied. "Just us then, but we are going to stick together, all of us until the end."

"Stick together all you want and talk all the talk that you want to talk but the fact remains in this, someone needs to get provisions and since no one else is volunteering I'll go and do it myself."

"Then I'll go with you, I told you already."

"Whatever," Punk said, opening the door and walking out.

For a moment John just remained frozen, but when he realized that Punk was leaving, he forced his feet to move and started following. Now as he walked, he heard Eve telling them to be careful and Alberto complaining that they should wait and draw some sticks, ending by adding that if not, that they should at least make a list of what was needed so they wouldn't have to make the journey twice.

But all that noise was secondary because all his senses were only focused on the man walking in front of him.

Quickening his steps, he caught up with Punk and once they were walking side to side, John cleared his throat and scratched his head.

"Hey, I um, should we talk about what happened last night?" He cringed as he said that, but it was the only thing that he was managed to come up with.

"I saw a Sam's Club when we were driving by; it's probably a block or two away so we should get there in no time."

Taking notice on the way he changed the subject but wanting to press on before he would lose the opportunity, John persisted. "Listen, I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable last night. I really don't know what got into me and I shouldn't have… well you know, done it."

To his little rant, Punk said nothing; he just walked down the stairs with his hands buried into the pockets of his hoodie and his eyes focused only in the path ahead.

Cena gave him a few minutes so that he could absorb what he just said, waiting until they made their way down to the lobby; but when he still got no response by the time they were walking out towards the street, he decided to try his luck once again.

"I know you have a lot in your plate to add this as well, but I don't want us to be awkward over this so please let us talk about it."

"Not now, Cena, so drop it before I kick your mouth shut."

Pursing his lips, John pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue and swallowed all he wanted to say down his throat. That way, with silence surrounding them and walking through the chaos that was made out of the city, the two wrestlers made it down the deserted street.

Now… with the sun high in the sky and illuminating the path ahead for them, John could see that everything was way worse than what he first thought; the smells, the panorama, the vibe… all added up was enough to make a man crumble and John was doing everything in his power to hold on to his sanity.

It was hard though, the silence was deafening and the sight terrible to look upon.

Going out there was also a reality check, one that hit him like a hard blow to the stomach and one that almost left him with no air to breathe. He just couldn't understand it… how could he be worrying about Punk and the kiss when so many lay dead on the streets?

And really, it almost felt as if he was walking into a combat zone… no, more than that, what happened out there was a damn massacre and as far as his eyes could see, nobody but them survived.

"This is terrible." John said almost in a whisper as they walked over a pavement full of blood and through severed bodies. And to think this could be happening all over the country…

Punk hummed, other than that he said and did nothing.

Tensing his jaw and blinking rapidly, John tried his best not to look around because he didn't think that he could look at the body parts scattered around without thinking on his fallen co-workers. Was Punk thinking of the same thing, was he thinking about Beth?

John was, of all the people he saw dying, her death was the one that affected him the most and not because he had a special bond to her, but because he could still smell her blood as it flowed out of her body and he could still hear the way her flesh and bones ripped apart at the moment of her death.

It has been gruesome, horrible… and the memory of what happened to her didn't let him close his eyes to get some sleep during the night so he didn't want to imagine what it was doing to Punk.

Swallowing on dry, the blue eyed man tilted his head to the side and looked at the infamous CM Punk. As he watched he took special notice that his hoodie, even though scrubbed, had a few stain of blood.

"I'm really sorry about Beth, I know you two were close." And by close he meant that he knew they used to date. It has been long over between them though and rumor had it that their break-up has been a nasty one, but even though, he could bet on anything that seeing her die affected him deeply.

Punk said nothing once again, he didn't even bat an eyelash. He just scowled and went on, walking until they finally arrived to the parking lot of Sam's Club.

Much to their luck, their mission of getting provisions went well and in less than twenty minutes they had two shopping carts filled to the top. From water to a first aid kit, to all kinds of dried food and snacks and things to drink, they got it all. They even found a section with clothes, both for men and women and they raided that too.

Punk even decided that he needed new clothes to wear as soon as possible and he took off both his hoodie and shirt, tossed them aside and put on a clean ones. He did it swiftly and once he was done he went ahead and grabbed a few more shirts at random to put them on the cart.

John saw that happening out of the corner of his eyes, trying his best to act as if nothing was amiss. But boy oh boy, did his heart started to beat a tad harder when he caught a glimpse of Punk's lean torso in all its glory?

It was almost as getting a sneak peak at the world's most intriguing piece of art.

Getting that sneak peek made him think about last night once again and he ran his tongue across his lips.

But no, it wasn't a good time to think about that so clearing his throat, John saw a shirt that he could use himself and grabbed it. "Would you consider this stealing? I don't even have a Sam's Club card." Now, saying that made him feel stupid but he just needed to say something to get his mind moving in another direction.

Punk didn't even hear him, and if he did he paid him no mind. He was now moving to another section and John hurried to pick a few things for the rest of the group and went after him.

Now, Punk's mind was definitely somewhere else, John realized it when he observed the smaller man pick some fruit to add to their selection; the way he was standing, his far off gaze… it was obvious that the best he could do was leave him alone for now so he turned around and without getting too far, he decided to look for things they could use.

It was as he did that that he spied a portable gas grill near the fruits. Right there, he turned his attention to it and realized that they could get some meat from the freezers and cook them before they went to waste. God only knew when electricity would come back and having a decent meal to fill their bellies that same day didn't seem too bad.

"Look at his…" He began to say as he grabbed a box and turned to Punk, but before he could finish the sentence, the grill was being yanked out of his hands and with his arms still extended he watched in surprise the way Punk threw it towards the glass door of one of the freezers.

For a moment John was lost to what was happening and he just stood there, frozen on his spot as Punk discharged all his frustration against the box. He was kicking at it furiously, and when he got tired of that he grabbed it again and threw it against another glass door, making it explode with the impact.

He watched as if hypnotized, afraid to interrupt and unable to look away. He knew Punk, he knew the way he operated and he knew very well that when he was in one of his moods, he should be left alone until he cooled off.

That way he watched as Punk went at it for a while, observing how the WWE Champion broke a few glass doors, broke the grill and then went to take another brand new grill to kill it too. When he was done he just sat on the floor and cradled his face into his hands.

"It should have been me. She didn't deserve to die like that."

Swallowing on dry, John blinked his eyes slowly and looked around, not quite sure of what to do or say, but then he heard Punk chuckling bitterly and he immediately went down to the floor to sit with him.

"No one deserves to die like that, not her and not you. You did what you could…" With those words, he placed a hand on Punk's shoulder tentatively, almost afraid that he would get his hand slapped away.

But Punk didn't do that, he just shook his head no and driven by another wild impulse, John grabbed his face out of his hands and made the younger man look at him.

Now, Punk's eyes were shining and his cheeks were flushed a deep red, but other than that he seemed composed and not crying as he has feared.

He was glad about that, as he wouldn't have known what to do with a crying Punk… not that he knew what to do with an upset Punk any better.

"I wouldn't have liked it if it was you." He said, chewing on his lips and getting lost in the green depths of the eyes staring back at him. "I mean how else would I have seen the once in a lifetime event of Punk vs. The Grill at Sam's Club, and ringside?"

At that, Punk snorted, letting John mold the palm of his hand to his cheek. "That was so fucking lame, John-Boy."

"I know." He replied with a shrug and dropping his hand away. "So you cared a lot about her, uh?"

Punk tilted his head to the side and sucked into his mouth his lip ring. It was almost as if he was considering the question.

"I did, once… but that we no longer got along doesn't mean that I wanted her to see her die like that. It wasn't fair, John and… and I would have traded places with her in a heartbeat."

"I wouldn't have let you." John said in a serious tone and Punk blinked slowly.

For a few seconds, they just stared into each other's eyes; John feeling the need to lean forward and kiss him and Punk just sitting there, studying him.

To John, the moment seemed too intimate and not because the memory of the kiss they shared was floating in the air, but because he was seeing a part of Punk he has never seen before…

He knew Punk the wrestler, he knew Punk the smart-ass and he even knew the slightly obsessed part of him that struggled to get fit. Then there was Punk the comic book fan, Punk the crabby, Punk the well, Punk and even the Punk that would speak his mind even if it got him in trouble. But this part of Punk he has never seen… yeah he has heard about a selfless Punk that would give it all so he could help the ones he loved and cared, but he has never gotten an inside look to that part of him.

And this vulnerable Punk was as alien to his as the 'things' that gave them chase during the previous night.

"So are you okay?" John asked tentatively, his eyes still delving deep into Punk's. On his part, the other man nodded so Cena cleared his throat and looked away. "Alright, and do you think I can get one of those grills without you making it job to you?"

"Maybe." Punk shrugged and John just had to look back to him.

"So what do we do now?" He asked, a small dimple smile taking over his face when he saw that Punk hadn't stopped looking at him.

"We go back and hope we won't get killed?"

And then what? He wanted to ask, what about the kiss and why do you have to look at me like that? But instead he just blinked his eyes a couple of times and nodded. "Yeah… sounds like a plan."

The moment those words were out of his mouth, the sound of something huge crashing somewhere near filled their surroundings and by instinct he covered his head with both his arms. That reaction lasted a second though as he soon remembered Punk and went to check on him.

"Are you okay?" He asked once again, this time meaning if he was physically unharmed.

"What the fuck that?" Punk asked and John listened. It was the wrong sound, as he already associated the sound of whatever was killing every one with howling wind, but whatever he was hearing now, it didn't sound good.

He could feel all his blood draining down to his feet and he wondered how it was possible that earlier on he was thinking that his blood has turned thick as petroleum? No, if it turned into something it was water. "I don't know but it's coming our way."

Pulling Punk to him and backing off until his back was firmly pressed against a wall, John's good arm automatically went to wrap around the younger man's midsection. That way he held him close… hell, he was almost forcing the other man to sit between his legs while his hand got glued to his stomach.

"I don't like this." Punk said and John knew that he wasn't talking about their position. No, he was talking about the loud sound coming their way.

"Fuck, fuck…" John chanted under his breath, looking around and wondering if they should start running; but he couldn't stand, and even if he could manage to get the willpower to get up to his feet he would have to push Punk off of him and the effort of doing that seemed too stressful.

They just got caught up unprepared and now there they were. With the sound approaching, John held his breath and then he saw it… he saw the source of the sound.

"You have to be fucking kidding me." Punk said as a fork-lift driven by two men that couldn't be past their twenties passed right beside them.

The men didn't even see them, they were too occupied drinking straight from a bottle of Grey Goose and knocking down everything that got in their way.

"We are the fucking kings of the world, no one will stop us. Wooooh!"

With his heart calming down and his breathing starting to come back to normal, John closed his eyes, pressed his forehead to the back of Punk's head and snorted. "I almost had a heart attack here."

"Tell me about it." Punk said and just like that, John grabbed his chin and made him face him so that he could kiss his lips once again.

It was a short lived kiss though as John himself pulled away quickly. "Sorry…"

Punk blinked slowly, sucking into his mouth his lip ring and then snorting. "No you are not." With that said, he got to his feet and grabbed one of the shopping carts. "Come on, the way back will be a pain in the ass and I don't want to delay it a second longer."

John watched, confusion reigning in his mind. But doing as Punk did, he got up and grabbed a grill, tossed it into his cart and then he started walking after Punk.

During their way back they said nothing at all, but when they got back to the hotel and Punk started to cuss about having to take all the things up the stairs, a smile crept over his face and he shook his head.

Yeah, maybe he was attracted to Punk and no, that didn't necessarily had to be a bad thing…

**XxXxXxX**

Okay sorry that it took me so long to update this, life has been crazy and I lost track. Anyway, this is basically a fill-in chapter and yeah, I kept everyone safe. But when night arrives, who knows… probably _something_ will happen O.O


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